Futuristic toy weapon



Sept. 29, 1936. L. MARX FUTURISTIC TOY WEAPON Filed Feb. 26, 1935INVENTOR Louis Marx ATTORN s Patented Sept. 29, 1936 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 12 Claims.

This invention relates to toys, and more particularly to a futuristictoy weapon.

The object of my invention resides in the provision of a futuristic toyweapon which is harmless and fool-proof in operation 1 and therebyadapted for use by small children. The weapon preferably comprises acombination of sparking and siren mechanisms, thereby producing both anoptical and a sound effect. The casing is preferably hollow and bulbousin configuration in order to give the same a Weird appearance.

The mechanisms are mounted in a motor frame, and in accordance with onefeature and object of my invention the motor frame is secured centrallywithin the bulbous body by arms extending outwardly from the frame andsecured between outwardly pressed convex sides which are secured in edgeto edge relation to form the body of the weapon. In accordance with afurther object of my invention one of these arms may be extendedupwardly through the body to form a sight vane, and this in turn may berolled at its upper edge to form a sight tube.

Other objects of my invention center about the drive mechanism for theweapon and include the provision of a single trigger for actuating boththe siren and sparking mechanisms; the provision of suitable overrunninggear mechanism in the drivinggear train to afford free overrunning ofthe siren when the trigger is actuated, as well as continued operationby repeated actuations of the trigger; and the provision of a restoringspring for the trigger and an appropriate mounting for the same on themotor frame.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and other objects which willhereinafter appear, my invention consists in the toy weapon elements andtheir relation one to the other as are hereinafter more particularlydescribed in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims.The specification is accompanied by drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a futuristic toy weapon embodying featuresof my invention;

Fig. 2 is a, front elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a section taken in elevation through the central plane of theweapon;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken in the plane of the line 4-4 inFig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section taken in the plane of the line 55 in Fig. 3; and I aFig. 6 is a section taken in the plane of the line 6-6 in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, the futuristic toy weapon comprises a sheetmetal casing made of outwardly pressed or convex sides l2 and I4 securedtogether in edge to edge relation to form a hollow bulbous body portion16 and contiguous handle portion 18. A muzzle ring 20 is secured betweenthe sides of the body at the forward end thereof and is held in place byappropriate tongues 22 (Figs. 3 and 4) formed on the body and passingthrough mating slots in ring 20. The handle I8 is completed by a bottomplate 24 hav-' ing an upwardly curled edge 26 and secured to the handleby tongues 28 passingthrough and turned beneath plate 24.

The mechanism of the weapon is carried by a frame comprising side plates30 and 32 secured together in spaced parallel relation by arms 34 bentfrom side plate 30 and having tongues 36 passing through mating slots inside plate 32. The motor frame is narrow and is supported centrally ofthe hollow body I6 by support arms 38, 40, and 42. Arms 38 and 40 areformed integrally with side plate 30 and are dimensioned to be securedbetween the edges of the sides l2'and l4 of the body. Lugs are bentoutwardly from the body at the ends of arms'38-and 4B and are providedwith bent tongue connections 44 which operate to hold the sides of thebody together with the motor frame in proper position.

The support arm 42 is in the present case extended upwardly out of thebody to form a sight vane 46 having a sight tube 48 rolled at the upperedge thereof, and is also extended rearwardly within the body to formaspring anchorage 50.- Because of the size of this member, I find iteconomical to make the same of a separate piece of sheet metal rigidlysecured to the motor frame, and for this purpose the inner end ofsupport arm 42 is bent sidewardly at 52 (Fig. 4) and is provided with atongue 54 passing through a slot in side plate 30. The latter isextended rearwardly at-56 and bent sidewardly at 58, and locked-to thesupport arm 42 by a tongue and slot connection 60. Support arm 42, likethe other support arms, is secured between the sides of the body, and inthis case the shoulders 62 (Fig. 3) at each side of sight vane 46 helpfix the location of the frame within the body. The sides of the body areheld together by an additional tongue connection 64 at the top of thebody, and one or more connections 66 at the handle portion, as well asby bottom plate 24 of the handle.

The sparking mechanism includes an abrasive Wheel 10 and a pyrophoricelement 12 which may be conveniently referred to as a flint. The sirenmechanism comprises a cylindrical casing 14 secured to the side of frameplate 30 by appropriate movement of the trigger.

rivets I6 and a bladed rotor I8 rotatable within the casing. The outerface of the latter is closed by a cap 80 having sound discharge openings82.

Siren rotor I8 and abrasive wheel 19 are preferably mounted on a commonshaft 84 journaled in the motor frame. Shaft 84 is arranged to beactuated by a trigger 86 pivoted at 88 in the motor frame and dependingfrom the motor frame through a space or slot- 9|] between the sides ofthe body. Trigger 86 is formed from a piece of reversely bent sheetmetal one side of which is projected upwardly to form a gear sector 92.Gear sector 92 meshes with a pinion 94 mounted on a spindle 96 carriedin slotted bearings 98 in the frame plates. Spindle 96 also carries agear IUD adapted when moved forwardly to engage a pinion m on the sirenshaft 84. The arrangement is such that when trigger 86 is pulledrearwardly, gear I00 is moved into engagement with pinion Hi2, and rapidrotation is imparted to the: abrasive wheel 1-0 and the siren rotor I8.When the trigger movement is completed, however, the continued rotationof the siren tends to cause disengagement of the gear I00, therebyaffording free overrunning movement of the siren and sparkingmechanisms. To insure disengagement of gear I80, I prefer toadd a thinwire cantilever spring I'M the fixed end I06 of which is anchored in themotor frame, and the movable end I118 of which is curled around spindle96 and tends normally tomove upwardly or rearwardly.

The trigger is restored to normal or forward position by a pull springII'Il tensionedbetween a hook H2 on gear sector 92' and an anchorage lugI I4 formed at the rear end of the arm 50. It will be understood thatwith this arrangement the trigger may be actuated and the siren ispermitted torace or overrun even during restoring It is thereforepossible to actuate the trigger successive times in order to produce asustained or accelerated rotation of the siren.

The flint I2 0! the sparking mechanism is preferably mounted at theforward end of a flint holder H6 the end II8 of which is given a T shapeand detachably inserted in a keyhole slot I20 formed on a support plateI22 at the top of the motor frame. Plate I22 is preferably formed bysidewardly bending the upper part of side plate 39, and is cut away toform a window I24 over abrasive wheel Ill. The flint rests loosely orfloatingly on the abrasive wheel but is prevented from moving sidewardlyoff the periphery of the wheel by the sides of window I24 through whichthe support arm or flint holder I-I6 passes. As is best shown in Fig. 4,the sparking mechanism is preferably located centrally of the weapon,thereby causing a shower of sparks to pass through the muzzle ring 20.

For access to the flint holder, I provide a channel-shaped guard I 26over flint holder H6. The forward end of the guard is provided withbearing holes I 28 which receive bearing lugs I 30 formed; at the sidesof the casing or body of the weapon. It will be. understood that theguard is readily mounted in place when the toy is being assembled, bysimply placing the same between the halves of the body, just as is thecase with the motor frame and the muzzle ring. The rear end of the guardis extended to form. a finger piece I32 which facilitates opening of theguard as well as enhances its appearance. The guard is normally keptclosed by spring fingers I34- (Fig. 6) which pass through slots I36 atthe top of the weapon.

The side I2 of the body is preferably cut away to form a sound dischargewindow I40 (Fig. 1) located at the siren discharge openings 62. Thewindow I40 may be shaped as shown, in conformity with the rearwardlytapering configuration of body portion I6.

The sides of the body may be pressed outwardly to form sidewardlyprojecting horizontal fins [42,. best shown in Figs. 1 and 4. Thisconstruction taken together with the configuration of the body, handle,sight vane 65, and guard I26, give the toy a strange or futuristicappearance' which enhances its play value, and it is consistent with thefuturistic nature of the toy that I prefer to use a siren sound duringits operation. The siren sound and the sparking at the muzzle of the guntogether symbolize the production of a fatal ray such as is oftenreferred to in newspaper adventure strips.

It is believed that the mode of constructing and. using, as well as themany advantages of my futuristic toy weapon, will be apparent from theforegoing detailed description thereof. It will; also be apparent thatwhile I have shown and described my invention in preferred form, manychanges and modifications may be made in the structure disclosed,without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1 A futuristic toy weapon comprising a body made of two oppositelyconvexed pieces of sheet metal placed in edge to edge relation to form abulbous body portion and contiguous handle portion, a frame in saidbody, said frame comprising spaced side plates and support armsextending outwardly therefrom and secured between the meeting edges ofthe sides of the body, a trigger pivoted in said frame and dependingthrough a slot in said body, and mechanism mounted in said frame andarranged for actuation by said trigger.

2. A toy weapon comprising a body made of two oppositely convexed piecesof sheet metal placed in edge to edge relation to form a body portionand contiguous handle portion simulating a weapon having a muzzle. amotor frame in said body, said frame comprising spaced side plateshaving support arms extending outwardly therefrom and secured betweenthe meeting edges of the sides of the body, a trigger pivoted in saidframe and depending through a slot in said body, and sparking and sirenmechanisms mounted in said frame and geared for actuation by saidtrigger, said gearing providing high-speed unidirectional rotation ofthe sparking and siren mechanisms, and said sparking mechanism being solocated as to throw a stream of sparks out of the muzzle of the weapon.

3. A futuristic toy Weapon comprising a body made. of. two oppositelyconvexed pieces of sheet metal placed. in edge to edge relation to forma bulbous body portion and contiguous handle portion simulating a weaponhaving a muzzle, a muzzle ring secured at the forward end of the bodybetween the sides thereof, a motor frame in said body, said framecomprising spaced side plates having support arms extending outwardlytherefrom and secured between the meeting edges of the sides: of thebody, a trigger pivoted in said frame and depending through a slot insaid body, and sparking and siren mechanisms mounted in said frame andgeared for actuation by said trigger, said gearing providing high-speedunidirectional rotation of the sparking and siren mechanisms, and saidsparking mechanism being so located as to throw a stream of sparks outofthe muzzle of the weapon.

4. A futuristic toy weapon comprising a body made of'two oppositelyconvexed pieces of sheet metal placed in edge to edge relation to formabulbous body portion and contiguous handle portion, a motor frame insaid body, said frame comprising spaced side plates and support armsextending outwardly therefrom and secured between the meeting edges ofthe sides of the body, one of said support arms being projected beyondthe body to form a large sightvane with a sight tube at the top edgethereof, a trigger pivoted in said frame and depending through a slot insaid body, and mechanism mounted in said frame and arranged foractuation by said trigger.

5. A futuristic toy weapon comprising a body made of two oppositelyconvexed pieces of sheet metal placed in edge to edge relation to form abulbousbodyportionandcontiguoushandleportion simulating a weapon havinga muzzle, a motor frame in said body, a trigger pivoted in said frameand depending through a slot in said body, and sparking mechanismmounted in said frame and geared for actuation by said trigger, saidsparking mechanism including an abrasive wheel and a detachablefloatingly mounted flint holder resting thereon, and a relatively largeguard at the top edge of said body having one end pivoted between theside edges thereof to afford opening of the guard for access to andreplacement of the flint holder, said gearing providing high-speeduni-directional rotation of the sparking mechanism, and said sparkingmechanism being so located as to throw a stream of sparks out of themuzzle of the weapon. 6. A futuristic toy weapon comprising a body madeof two oppositely convexed pieces of sheet metal placed in edge to edgerelation to form a bulbous body portion and contiguous handle portionsimulating a weapon having a muzzle, a motor frame in said body, saidframe comprising .spaced side plates having support arms extendingoutwardly therefrom and secured between the meeting edges of the sidesof the body, one of said support arms being projected beyond the body toform a sight vane, a trigger pivoted in said frame and depending througha slot in said body, and sparking mechanism mounted in said frame andgeared for actuation by said trigger, said sparking mechanism includingan abrasive wheel and a detachable floatingly mounted flint holderresting thereon, and an openable guard at the top edge of said bodypivoted between the side edges thereof for access to the flint holder,said gearing providing high-speed uni-directional rotation of thesparking mechanism, and said sparking mechanism being so located as tothrow a stream of sparks out of the muzzle of the weapon.

'7. A futuristic toy weapon comprising a body made of two oppositelyconvexed pieces of sheet metal placed in edge to edge relation to form abulbous body portion and contiguous handle portion, a muzzle ringsecured at the forward end of the body between the sides thereof, amotor frame in said body, a trigger pivoted in said frame and dependingthrough a slot in said body, sparking and siren mechanisms mounted insaid frame and geared for actuation by said trigger, said sparkingmechanism including an abrasive wheel and a detachable freely floatinglymounted flint holder resting thereon at approximately the center planeof the weapon in back of the aforesaid muzzle ring, and an openableguard at the top edge of said body pivoted between theside edges thereoffor access to the flint holder, said gearing providing high-speeduni-directionalrotation of the sparking andsiren mechanisms.

8. A futuristic toy weapon comprising a body made of two oppositelyconvexed pieces of sheet metal placed inedge to edge relation to form abulbous body portion and contiguous handle portion, a muzzle ringsecured at the forward end of the body between the sides thereof, amotor frame in said body, said frame comprising spaced side plates andsupport arms extending outwardly therefrom and secured between themeeting edges of the sides of the body, one of said support arms beingprojected beyond the body to form a sight vane with a sight tube at thetop edge thereof, a trigger pivoted in said frame and depending througha slot in said body, and sparking and siren mechanisms mounted in saidframe and geared for actuation by said trigger, said gearing providinghigh-speed uni-directional rotation of the sparking and sirenmechanisms, and said sparking mechanism being so located as to throw astream of sparks out of the muzzle of the weapon.

9. A toy weapon comprising a body made of two oppositely convexed piecesof sheet metal placed in edge to edge relation to form a body portionand contiguous handle portion, a muzzle ring secured at the forward endof the body between the sides thereof, a motor frame in said body, saidframe comprising spaced side plates and support arms extending outwardlytherefrom and secured between the meeting edges of the sides of thebody, one of said support arms being projected beyond the body to form asight vane with a sight tube, a trigger pivoted in said frame anddepending through a slot in said body, sparking and siren mechanismsmounted in said frame and geared for actuation by said trigger, saidsparking mechanism including an abrasive wheel and a detachablefloatingly mounted flint holder resting thereon at approximately thecenter plane of the weapon in back of the aforesaid muzzle ring, and anopenable guard at the top edge of said body pivoted between the sideedges thereof for access to the flint holder, said gearing providinghighspeed uni-directional rotation of the sparking and siren mechanisms.

10. A toy weapon comprising a body made of two oppositely convexedpieces of sheet metal placed in edge to edge relation to form a bulbousbody portion and contiguous handle portion simulating a weapon having amuzzle, actuated siren and sparking mechanism in said body, saidmechanism comprising a motor frame including two frame plates secured inspaced relation and having outwardly extending support arms securedbetween the halves of the body, one of said support arms being extendedrearwardly to form a spring anchorage, a trigger pivoted in said frameand having a gear sector formed integrally therewith, a. tension springconnected between said gear sector and said rearwardly extending springanchorage in order to normally pull the gear sector rearwardly, and astep-up gear train interconnecting the gear sector and the aforesaidsiren and sparking mechanism.

11. A toy weapon comprising a body made of two oppositely convexedpieces of sheet metal placed in edge to edge relation to form a bulbousbody portion and contiguous handle portion simulating a weapon having amuzzle, actuated siren and sparking mechanism in said body, saidmechanism comprising a motor frame including two Home. plates secured inspaced relation and, having outwardly extending support. arms securedbetween the halves of the body, one of said support arm being extendedrearwardly to form a spring anchorage, a trigger pivoted in said frameand having a gear sector formed integrally therewith, a tension springconnected between said gear sector and said rearwardly extending springanchorage in order to normally pull the gear sector rearwardly, astep-up gear train interconnecting the gear sector and the aforesaidsiren and sparking mechanism, at least one. gear in said train beingmounted on a shaft. carried in slot-like bearings affording engagementordisengagement of the gear, thedirection of movement of the gears.being such that when the trigger is actuated the gear is moved intoengaged position.

12. A toy weapon comprising a body made of two oppositely convexedpieces of sheet metal placed in edge to edge relation to form a bulbousbody portion and contiguous handle portion simulating a weapon havingamuzzle, actuated siren acumen and sparking mechanism in said body, saidmechanism com-prising a motor frame including two frame plates securedin spaced relation and having outwardly extending support arms securedbetween. the halves of the body, one of said support arms being extendedupwardly toform a sight vane and being extended rearwardly to form aspring'anchorage, a trigger pivoted in said frame and having a gearsector formed integrally therewith, a tension spring connected betweensaid gear sector and said rearwardly extending spring anchorage in orderto normally pull the gear sector rearwardly, a step-up gear traininterconnecting the gear sector and the aforesaid siren and sparkingmechanism, at least one gear in said train being mounted on a shaftcarried in slotlike bearings affording engagement or disengagement ofthe gear, resilient means normally urging the gear to disengagedposition, the direction of movement of the gears being such that whenthe trigger is actuated the gear is moved into engaged position.

LOUIS MARX.

